On August 26, 2008, I released a video that addressed the assertion – sometimes heard even amongst students of Objectivist philosophy – that “ethics don’t apply in life boat scenarios” or other emergencies. In the video, I spoke extemporaneously, but I thought my argument should nonetheless be made available in written format, for googlers and others who may prefer to read philosophical arguments, rather than to listen to them or to watch them. What follows is, for the most part (about 99% of it), a transcription of what I said in the video. However, I have removed contractions in most places and, in a small number of places where the spoken word left some ambiguity as to my meaning, I have made my meaning more clear. Read more